Something to remember

[Daytripper]

Heard about this the other day. Apparantly a players 2 young daughters were at the footy with their mother for the game against Richmond. The crowd was getting stuck into this player mercilessly during the game but what upset the family members the most was that a lot of the abuse was coming from that players supporters. The girls who went are only 5 and 7 (I think) so you can imagine how that sort of thing would affect them. They have been quite experienced in hearing comments about their dad at the football but coming from their own was especially hurtful.

It reminded of a story lasty year about how a poster was boasting on this board how he got Ricky Dyson's dad stirred up at a Bendigo Bombers game after making comments about him.

Can a lot of you remember that players have family members and close friends who are probably sitting near them at the footy or reading Big Footy/ Bomberblitz etc. There's nothing wrong with criticism but when it gets personal (ie Stanton is a soft prick, Skipworth is an old hack) it goes a bit too far. Particularly when most of the criticism is completely unjustified.

That is all.

 

[Godzke]

If a player does something stupid I will bloody well let him friggin know about it ... even if I'm sitting next to the queen!

If you bring your family they should sit in the members where it's a bit quieter.

 

[Daytripper]

If a player does something stupid I will bloody well let him friggin know about it ... even if I'm sitting next to the queen!

If you bring your family they should sit in the members where it's a bit quieter.

Where do you think players families sit ?

 

[Godzke]

They should sit in the members, but that doesn't mean they all do.

 

[saladodger]

I am not a big fan of abusing our players I try and save it for opposition and umpires but it is a part of the game and relatives will just have to get used to it.

Here is a thought, can you imagine how an umpires parents or mrs would feel sitting in the crowd and listening to the abuse they cop. ha ha ha

 

[Daytripper]

They should sit in the members, but that doesn't mean they all do.

Why would they sit somewhere else when they get 4 free tickets given to them each week to sit in allocated area ?

 

[Godzke]

Why would they sit somewhere else when they get 4 free tickets given to them each week to sit in allocated area ?

Because maybe they're part of a larger group? Happens all the time.

 

[ant555]

If a player does something stupid I will bloody well let him friggin know about it ... even if I'm sitting next to the queen!

If you bring your family they should sit in the members where it's a bit quieter.

And i suppose you are one of the supporters that are amused by so called feral Richmond supporters.
I persoanly dont think that screeming abuse at our own players is such a great look. Yes question some of the things that happen but simply yelling " Smith you ******* uesless **** " or something siliar is total BS.

 

[Daytripper]

Because maybe they're part of a larger group? Happens all the time.

Mate - they just use other players tickets.
Do you think the WA boys use all their tickets each week ?

Anyway, this is going off track.

 

[yaco55]

I am more of a quiet supporter - That means that abuse of opposition, Umpire and My team is a NO No.

 

[hateitorlovett13]

Yeah. I've been known to occasionally abuse the umpires when I deem warranted, but draw the line well before abusing any players- let alone Essendon players specifically.

You do it, you immediately lose respect from any slightly educated, moral people around you.

As I have repeated, we're called supporters for a reason.

 

[DapperDon]

Simple rule to follow.

If you are going to yell abuse, drinking until you're blind and swear, stand at the back. Families have a right to take kids to the footy without having to cover their kids ears every 23 seconds.

To those who just plain out abuse your own players, remember you're the fat **** sitting in the stand eating a pie, they are the ones trying to get you the glory of a premiership, give them some respect.

 

[Fraz]

If the player mentioned in the OP is who I'm guessing it is, he is a champion who deserves better.

Would be hard for players families/friends to hear people, especially those that supposedly support the team, slag them off.

Not Essendon related but I remember Anita Frawley saying there was a point in Danny's last season where she didn't take her children to the matches because the abuse was so much.

There was also the (rather funny) incident a couple of years ago, again not Essendon related, where a guy sitting behind Mark Graham's wife kept going on about how Mark was gay etc. Roz, who was heavily pregnant at the time, turned around and pointed out that she was carrying his child. Needless to say she didn't hear a peep from him for the rest of the match.

Speaking of Roz Graham, there was that incident in 2004 where she actually responded to posts on a Hawthorn forum when her husband was being bagged. She actually said that she read the forum "all the time". Hello to any Essendon WAGs if you're reading

 

[saladodger]

Surely some of you are joking!

I dont condone mindless abuse from some fat ****, spraying pie from his gob as he tells a player how he should be playing, but harmless banter especially when a player has put himself out there for i.e Reiwoldt crying or Farmer being Farmer is fine in my book.

Go to any amateur footy match anywhere in the country this Saturday and you will hear both sides supporters getting into the umpire when they feel it is warranted, you will hear either sides supporters getting into opposition players for showboating, starting fights or any other kind of d**khead behaviour and you will hear supporters expressing disappointment at a guy who has missed a mark or tackle or kicked a clanger.

Sadly even juniors dont escape this treatment from parents. Juniors aside all the talk is and should be a part of the game, it creates the atmosphere.

I agree dropping F and C bombs around kids is not a good look and neither is being sh1tfaced but the majority of people understand this in my opinion.

One last one, how many of these family members that are said to be offended could honestly say they have never dished out a bit gob of their own at a footy match. I cant imagine even half of the dads of the players in the league could say they have been an angel at every single game they have ever attended.

In short, its footy FFS, harden up!!!

 

[Nicko_]

Hello to any Essendon WAGs if you're reading

Suck up

 

[lamaros]

The only time I have probably abused a player personally (as opposed to being pissed off about something that player did or didn't do) was in the 1999 PF. And even them I'm not sure if I did it at the footy, or just whinging drunk later on around my friends.

I really don't see what abusing people personally does. I prefer yelling out in support of the team as a way of making a bit of noise when I'm at the footy.

 

[Godzke]

And i suppose you are one of the supporters that are amused by so called feral Richmond supporters.
I persoanly dont think that screeming abuse at our own players is such a great look. Yes question some of the things that happen but simply yelling " Smith you ******* uesless **** " or something siliar is total BS.

Oh, naturally there's a degree of caution and restraint you exercise in public. As an MCC member I've seen a few incidents where someone's tongue has got them in trouble with an official, not personal experience, but I'm careful nonetheless.

Certain words are put away ... but my point is, given measured discourse, I will bag anyone on the field relative to what they do. I don't yell abuse for the sake of it, I do it out of pure frustration of poor decision - making.

A poor kick? I groan. A poor handball? I mutter. A clear-cut poor decision... you better not be sitting in front of me without ear muffs.

 

[stay true]

As a rule I never abuse our boys. If someone makes a really bad error I just laugh it off in disbelief.

Some of the shit I hear from our fans is embarrassing. Even when we're winning comfortably and playing great the slightest error is pounced upon. McPhee/Stanton/Dyson the scapegoats mainly.

Poor form IMO.

 

[Boucks09]

As a rule I never abuse our boys. If someone makes a really bad error I just laugh it off in disbelief.

Some of the shit I hear from our fans is embarrassing. Even when we're winning comfortably and playing great the slightest error is pounced upon. McPhee/Stanton/Dyson the scapegoats mainly.

Poor form IMO.

I sit in the Essendon members and they are the worst of the lot. I actually dislike the majority of Essendon members and make that well known to all my friends and opposition fans. And the problem is that the majority of people who unload on the players aren't drunk bogans, but stone cold sober senior citizens (50 y/o +) who mercilessly bag one player for the majority of the game.

I find that I get most fired up abusing these d***heads more than anybody else. Take this year for example against Melbourne. Some bloke gave Stanton a spray for not working hard enough. At the very next stoppage he won the contested ball and kicked a goal so I turned around and gave the bloke a piece of my mind.

That sort of abuse really shits me more than an outburst about a particular passage of play (e.g. Andrew Welsh's HORRIBLE 20m inboard kick last week).

I'm prone to the occasional outburst but find I'm much worse watching on TV then actually at the game. I'll put my hand up and say that I told McVeigh that he needed to step up as a leader (words to that effect) against Richmond but for me that is warranted given his body language and lack of awareness (regardless of the corkie). People saying that he should be delisted and that he is an embarrassment to the team are w***ers and should be treated as such.

It's an interesting point that the OP raises though. Where do you draw the line in terms of giving players a bit of banter. At the second Collingwood game this season I may have questioned Alan Didaks criminal record (or lack thereof) and copped a sharp response from a Collingwood fan. What is fair game and what isn't? Calling Milney a r**ist? Buddy a druggo? Probably a bit too far but again it's not as if these things are just made up or contain an element of truth.

If an opposition supporter chose to give Lovett or Lovett Murray some shit about being crims or what not I think that is fair game and players would expect to cop that. Obviously if somebody was on their case for the ENTIRE game it may be a different story, but the odd quip here and there I think is ok.

Football is a passionate game.

 

[Macca18]

I know who this particular player is who was mentioned by the OP - and it is extremely upsetting to hear that this is the case. Are you sure it wasn't his three daughters? The player deserves better in the twilight of his career especially considering all the feats he has achieved at the club over the years. Some of us may lament his current lack of form or why he is even playing at all but this family deserves better.

We have some of the worst supporters for this type of behaviour. And they reckon Richmond eat their own...

 

[NAUGHT5]

I dont see what you get out of ridiculing a player on field who will never hear it anyway. It just makes you look like an idiot. Some people might laugh, but 95% of the people at the ground are trying to find new seats to get away from you.
People who feel the need to yell at football games to ridicule a player need to get a life.

Next time you want to yell out and abuse a player, remember:

He wont hear it. He wouldn't care what you think anyway.

The only person who might hear it is their mother, father, daughter.

One case i remember was in the SANFL.
An AFL listed player was playing when a guy from the other side of the fence made remarks about the player being soft. Fair enough?
The guy then said "your father would be really proud"
That players father had passed away about 4 or 5 years earlier.
The player walked to the fence and gave the man a piece of his mind. And the man cowared behind friends.
Priceless comeback to an absolute knob of a supporter.

 

[Hencho]

I once had an arguement with two Essendon supporters who were relentlessly bagging certain players: Welsh, McPhee, D.Hille, Stanton etc...

They proceeded to bag and abuse them one minute and the next they were cheering for them...what the f&%k??? Turned around and told them it's one or the other, you can't have it both ways! Douche bags!!!

 

[BringBackCransberg]

Abuse is never warranted when you're in the stands. You can't be expected to be silent - voice your dismay, disappoinment, groan, whatever - but do not abuse. Anyone who feels the need to do so needs to grow up. You may have put money into the club via membership/ticket price whatever, but you can't buy the right to abuse someone.

And don't forget, as Naught said, that for the vast majority of seats - the players can't even hear you. You have no idea who's around you so err on the side of not being an inconsiderate d***head. Then, going to the footy can be, for everyone, about going to the footy first, whatever emotional problems you need to release in public second. As Boucks said, it's a passionate game - the passion needs to be directed through moral channels to avoid genuinely harmful behaviour as outlined in the OP.

 

[The Donners]

If you teach your children to ignore it there shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Wahooti Fandango]

Simple rule to follow.

If you are going to yell abuse, drinking until you're blind and swear, stand at the back. Families have a right to take kids to the footy without having to cover their kids ears every 23 seconds.

To those who just plain out abuse your own players, remember you're the fat **** sitting in the stand eating a pie, they are the ones trying to get you the glory of a premiership, give them some respect.

Wise words from Dapper.

I usually do not abuse our players, although I was quite angry at Mcveigh during the Richmond match. I think I might have shouted "useless" once or twice, but this was generally followed by my questioning why he was picked and so was more a go at the selectors.